Benefits of Meditation
Meditation is a way to help you heal your life in every aspect – mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. You learn to:
~ Witness the arising and passing of thought, feeling, and sensation
~ Bring the mind back to the focus you have chosen
~ Develop an attitude of acceptance toward whatever happens in this process
Research shows that meditation impacts our health in these many ways:
Mind
Greater Orderliness of Brain Functioning
Improved Ability to Focus
Improved Perception and Memory
Development of Intelligence
Body
Decrease chronic pain
Increase fertility
Deeper Level of Relaxation
Help insomnia
Decrease PMS
Decrease in Stress Hormone
Lower Blood Pressure
Reversal of Aging Process
Reduction in Cholesterol
EmotionsDecrease depression, anxiety, anger
Increase self-esteem in teens
Decreased Cigarette, Alcohol, and Drug Abuse
Increased Relaxation and Decreased Stress
Life/Spiritual
Creativity
Increased self-actualization
Increased strength of self concept
Improved relationships
*research done by Harvard medical school “Benson-Henry Mind Body Institute” http://www.massgeneral.org/bhi/
How to meditate
An easy way to start is to simply observe your breath. Sit in a comfortable position, and focus on the sensation of your breath moving in and out of your nostrils. Feel your breath as it fills your belly, and leaves your belly. When thoughts start to pop up and take your attention away from your breath, simply watch the thoughts, rather than getting pulled into their story. Are they thoughts about planning your day? Are they about a fight you haven’t resolved with a loved one? It doesn’t matter – this situation will not resolve by thinking in circles. Instead, watch the thoughts as an observer would, as if they are clouds passing by in a bright blue sky. Try it first for 5 minutes, and continue on with your day with a new found awareness. Increase the time to 20 minutes in the morning, and 20 minutes in the evening.
You are not your thoughts. Meditation helps you to connect to a place within yourself that can access peace, health, joy, bliss, love. It is there with every breath.
